Abandoned Ruins Mod: Vanilla + Exploration Rewards = Awesome :-)

[Drizzt]

just wanted to shout out this mod:
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/AbandonedRuins

does pretty much what its name says - adds various randomly placed abandoned factory remnants around the map - from tiny (e.g. a few wall pieces or belts), up to whole abandoned base sections, sometimes complete with hostile turrets (turret hostility can be toggled)

it really adds a whole new gameplay style to the game, especially to the early game

instead of just scouting around the starting area to check where the biter nests and resources are, and then heading back to the starting area to start your base in the only relatively safe spot - this mod gives you random pieces of equipment and items as you scout, some of which you would not normally get in the game until much later, and others that would still take a while to acquire - both rewarding the player for exploring and also offering the possibility of starting small bases far away from the start area if the player finds suitable equipment

anyway - just wanted to highlight it for anyone who hadn't heard of it, in case it sounded like something they might want to try

one warning though - do be sure to use the claiming tool (added with the mod) on any remnants you find, no matter how simple they seem - and if you want to know why, then save the game when you find a few random wall sections (was a group of 4 pieces i have seen several times), and approach them without first claiming them - i repeat first save your game - i will not be held responsible for what happens otherwise lol :-)

anyway - great mod for adding a bit of unscripted history to the map - and some possible early game advanced tech

i will likely also be recommending the story missions mod soon - but i want to play a little bit more of it beforehand

happy Factorio-ing :-)

[ShutEye_DK]

Just installed it and started a new test map. Seems fun.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by ShutEye_DK:

Just installed it and started a new test map. Seems fun.

yup - i am an hour in and i have barely built anything - but my inventory is full of cool gear - not massive quantities - but enough pieces that i can roam around and explore with a little base

also i am currently planning a mission to claim an amazing piece of equipment to have this early - that spawned in a biter nest

i am also finding uses for map tags to make notes of interesting stuff that i can't yet claim - or hostile turrets etc

also - a lot of the stuff you find is damaged - and until you can repair it, it takes up double room in your inventory if you also have undamaged ones - which is pretty cool (and makes you get some resources to build some repair kits just to free up the space)

very much a new way to play the game - especially the start

anyway - i hope you have as much fun as i am having :-)

[ShutEye_DK]

Originally posted by Drizzt:

...
anyway - i hope you have as much fun as i am having :-)

Not about to start a new game of Factorio. I have too much other stuff to do and play :)
But it will stay installed for my next run. I really appreciate exploration rewards in games.

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by ShutEye_DK:

Originally posted by Drizzt:

...
anyway - i hope you have as much fun as i am having :-)

Not about to start a new game of Factorio. I have too much other stuff to do and play :)
But it will stay installed for my next run. I really appreciate exploration rewards in games.

no worries - enjoy :-)

also - quick warning - don't claim stuff that's in a biter nest that they might attack - e.g. i just claimed a ruin (from a distance) that had an artillery emplacement in it, and they swarmed it - but if i had marked it and come back later and cleared out the biters i could have taken the emplacement - same with radars or anything else that they automatically attack - they will stay passive until you claim it (like they have claimed it for themselves)

is the same with hostile turrets - need to take them out first before claiming or they will fire on (and almost certainly destroy before you can do anything) the stuff you claimed

anyway - no more spoilers - i have exploring to do :-)

have fun when you do play it :-)

[willred]

this with warptorio 2 is great fun
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/warptorio2

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by willred:

this with warptorio 2 is great fun
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/warptorio2

nice - i will definitely have to give that one a go - still got Nullius, K2, the story missions mod, and various others to play - as well as trying to actually get to space in Space Exploration lol

i like this one because it just adds some exploration rewards to the vanilla freeplay - i spent 3 hours yesterday just wandering around the map and grabbing loot, which was very satisfying, especially when i had to fight to claim it :-)

i believe it also has a K2 addon to include ruins with the additional components of that mod - which is cool :-)

anyway - i shall definitely grap warptorio and add it to the playlist - thanks :-)

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by willred:

this with warptorio 2 is great fun
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/warptorio2

just to add - i just tried Warptorio briefly - and it seems very cool and challenging

but then i added the ruins mod. already assuming why it would make it even cooler - and it adds a whole new layer - basically giving you 20 minutes to scout around and find loot - and if you get lucky, the loot will help with setting up some essentials on the platform well before they have been researched

so yes - i totally see what you mean - thanks for the great suggestion :-)

EDIT: also just noticed how quickly the platform spreads pollution - so actually wandering around looting and not building on the platform is probably a good early strategy lol :-)

[puschit]

Thanks for this thread, I wish there were more like this (instead of the umpteenth thread about the price). I'll try to write some about my favourite mods myself. This forum needs some love

[Drizzt]

Originally posted by puschit:

Thanks for this thread, I wish there were more like this (instead of the umpteenth thread about the price). I'll try to write some about my favourite mods myself. This forum needs some love

i'm sure everyone could benefit from a little more love :-)

currently enjoying this mod that i mentioned previously:
https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Story-Missions

but only nearing the end (i think) of the first mission so far, so not gonna do a thread on it till i get further through it (10 missions, of which i believe 9 are currently feature complete)

but very much feels like a campaign in the style of the final level of the demo (the current demo, rather than the simple 3 level tutorial that there was back in the early days) - with cool little base segments to find when you explore - and the great Factorio freedom to do things any way you like from following the base layout closely to ripping everything up and building from scratch - with lots of added rewards for exploration

which reminds me, i need to install an older version of the game that still had the full New Hope campaign so that i can grab the last mission (which i think had oil) and see if it still works in the latest version of the game, maybe with just some tweaks

anyway - all hail the awesome modders and their wonderful work, as well as the support that they continue to get from the devs - and i am sure they are anticipating all of the new stuff they will get to play with once the Expansion is released - although i expect mod development will see a sharp dip for the first few weeks after release as we all just play the new content for a while :-)